Steamboat briefs for Oct. 16

Coastal navigation course to be offered this fall

Steamboat Springs  The U.S. Coast Guard will hold a course in Steamboat Springs this fall in basic and advanced coastal navigation. The course is geared mainly to sailboat or powerboat operators or anyone else interested in learning about nautical travel. The course is Nov. 3, 4, 10 and 11, and the test will be administered Nov. 17. Cost for the course is $100 plus some expenses. The course will cover chart reading, how to use basic navigational instruments, navigational aids including compass reading and electronic devices, how to plot longitude and latitude, dead reckoning and other piloting information. Call 879-2235 by Oct. 29 to sign up. Space is limited.

Medical center needs

volunteers for ski season

Yampa Valley Medical Center is seeking volunteers in a variety of capacities during the upcoming ski season. Call Volunteer Coordinator Mindy Fontaine at 870-1146 for more information. Volunteers must be willing to make a six-month commitment.

LIFT-UP offers commodities to qualified households

USDA commodities are being distributed for the fourth quarter of 2007 at LIFT-UP of Routt County offices in Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Oak Creek, through the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Eligible households may receive Assistance Program foods once per quarter. This quarterly distribution ends Dec. 31. Food will be given on a first-come, first-served basis. Call 870-8804 between 1 and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to ask about income-eligibility and hours of operation for each office.

Routt County Fair Board seeks to fill vacancies

The Routt County Fair Board has three vacancies. Two vacancies are at-large positions that expire Dec. 31, in 2008 and 2009. The third vacancy is for District 3, which includes Steamboat Springs, and expires Dec. 31, 2008. Meetings are the second Wednesday of every month. The Fair Board is a nine-member board responsible for the management of the fairgrounds, and planning and executing the annual Routt County Fair. Call Jill at 276-3068.

Free motor vehicle maps available for forest

New maps showing motorized routes on the Routt National Forest are now available free of charge at U.S. Forest Service offices in Steamboat Springs, Yampa, Kremmling and Walden, and the Forest supervisor's office in Laramie, Wyo.

"The maps, along with signs on the ground, will help motorized users know where and when they are allowed to travel and with what types of vehicles," said Forest Supervisor Mary Peterson. "It is the responsibility of motorized travelers to be aware of the legal designated routes and stay on them to ensure responsible use and enjoyment of the national forest."

Information and maps also are available at www.fs.fed.us/r2/mbr/recreation/travel_management/mvumindex.shtml. New motorized-use maps for the Medicine Bow National Forest and the Thunder Basin National Grassland will be available in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

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Comments

I knew there were a bunch of losers in the Coast Guard, but when they come to a place like Steamboat to teach a course which has no applicability whatsoever to any body of water within 1000 miles, they should AT LEAST schedule it during ski season so the instructors would get a good deal at Uncle Sam's expense.

So nice you can support our troops with such positive comments. I am sure the CG would be glad to know that they are defending YOUR freedom as part of the US armed forces.
As for the training that they are going to provide, do you think their is not anyone in Steamboat area that would be happy to learn compass and navigation skills? Many people that I have talked to, venture off in the spring and summer to larger waterways than what we have here.

I flew search and rescue helicopters in the Navy and regularly participated in SAR missions with Coast Guard boats, airplanes and helicopters along the Gulf Coast for almost 3 years. It was my regular job -- not something that just happened once in a while.

I also once participated in a Coast Guard war game where a couple of Coast Guard Captains (O-6, with Eagles on their collars) were bemoaning the fact that they could observe fast "cigarette boats" coming into the Florida coastline from Bimini running drugs, but the Coast Guard boats were too slow to catch them, and the USCG and Customs Service didn't have money to purchase fast boats. So, I asked them, "Why don't you put a helicopter on standby, and when you see a boat coming in from Bimini at 70 knots, scramble the helo to intercept it when it gets to the beach. Then Customs can confiscate the boat, you guys paint a stripe on the side, and BINGO! The Coast Guard has a fast boat!"

These two guys looked at each other for a second without saying anything, and I left them to go back and tend to my own duties. Two weeks later, I was listening to the Nightly News and there was a story about the USCG catching a drug boat with a helicopter.

So, don't tell me about the USCG. They are among the best in the world at "doing it by the book," but sometimes they need help with the book.

When I got out of the Navy, I contacted the USCG about flying for them. They thought it was a great idea, and would have given me a "direct commission" in the USCG, but they wanted me to take a two-rank cut in pay and move to New York City and fly the big HH-3's out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Hmmm . . . much less pay, AND live in New York City! Such a deal. Instead, I went to a civilian desk job with no loss of pay, and got to skip the haircuts, shoe shines, uniforms, salutes, etc.

The USCG officer corps is much more interested in CG officer career paths than they are in actually rescuing people and protecting us. Those are just side effects of the officer management system. Oh, and the Navy is almost as bad . . .

That hero BS you hear so much about is all publicity for the recruiters. It's just not that way in real life. It is a dirty, thankless and dangerous job though, and you folks who never served will never understand it. The guys doing the work deserve all the credit you can give them, but the leaders of the services are in it for lots of reasons that have very little to do with actually defending the United States. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, scars, aches and pains to prove it.

Again, please note I said LEADERS. Not the troops. The average career military officer stays in for 20 because he can't do better on the outside. Most officers leave the military voluntarily at the rank of O-3 (Army, USMC and USAF Captain, Navy & CG Lieutenant) when they get fed up with incompetence in the higher ranks. The pre 9/11 stats prove it if you care to look.

So you are saying, that not ALL CG are losers then? Can we look past the bad ones and not lump them all into the losers category? I am sure we could also find losers in any of the Armed Forces if you tried, but sure again that many of them do not deserve the Loser title.